'Cotton' Owens inducted into International Motorsports Hall of Fame

Monday

Apr 28, 2008 at 3:35 PMApr 28, 2008 at 3:41 PM

By TODD SHANESY

NASCAR legend Everett “Cotton” Owens doesn’t go out to the track much anymore. It takes a special occasion for the 83-year-old.Being inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, for example, would qualify. Owens was honored Thursday at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, along with fellow stock car champion Robert “Red” Byron, drag racer Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, car builder Frank Kurtis, land speed record breaker Art Arfons and promoter Ralph Seagraves as the Class of 2008.

Owens, a Union native and longtime Spartanburg resident, was already in the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, the NASCAR mechanics Hall of Fame and had been listed among NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. “It’s an honor to be named with all the greats who are already in and the ones who will be in the near future,” Owens said. “I’m just honored to be among them.”Owens had more than 100 NASCAR Modified Tour victories before moving to the Grand National (now Sprint Cup) level and winning nine races from 1957 to 1965. He had even more success building and owning cars for other drivers such as Spartanburg native David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Fireball Roberts and Ralph Earnhardt. All told as a driver and owner, Owens won 38 poles and 41 races.Pearson and Owens took the season championship together in 1966. Pearson, who was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, was on hand to introduce Owens at the banquet ceremony. “That meant a lot to me. It was great,” Owens said. “It was good to see some old friends. It had been quite a while since I’d seen some of them.”

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